National Two South Update: Round 19 & 20

Round 19 served up some fantastic rugby once again as league leaders Henley Hawks just scraped past the Cornish All Blacks while Canterbury stunned Bishop’s Stortford to claim their first away win of the season.

Here is all the action from Round 19 and a look ahead to this weekend’s fixtures.

Review
Henley Hawks 29-28 Cornish All Blacks
The league leaders Henley Hawks were given a real scare by the Cornish All Blacks, but came away with an important victory in this enthralling contest at Dry Leas. The All Blacks always seem to cause Henley problems and did so on the weekend as they lead 0-18 at half-time after dominating the game.  But, Henley showed real character after the break and played patient rugby to turn the game around. This was a great advert for National Two South Rugby.
Reaction
    •    Henley Hawks Head Coach Nigel Dudding
“You have to score early. We looked dead and buried at half time but it’s a sign of the character of this squad and the desire to get things back on track. We didn’t panic at half time, just told the players to stay patient and score early. We did. However, we were disappointed with the way the game finished as we looked comfortable then but credit to Launceston”.

Dorking P-P Southend Saxons
Henley’s lead at the top of the table is now five points after their win because second place Dorking’s game at home to Southend Saxons was postponed.  

Taunton 30-17 Worthing Raiders
Taunton came away with a victory from the battle between fourth and fifth position in the table. It was a hard fought win for Taunton in a game that went back and forth for majority of the match, but after being 16-17 down at one stage, Taunton managed to find that extra edge to seal an excellent win against an in-form Worthing side. It wasn’t the best day at the office for the visitors who knew with a win they could have gone third in the table. It now looks likely they will be playing in this division next season, but anything can happen.

Bishop’s Stortford 12-19 Canterbury
The reason Taunton moved up to third was because Bishop’s Stortford were stunned by Canterbury on Saturday in what was their first win on the road all season. They thoroughly deserved the four points and took a 0-12 lead in the match after 30 minutes still oozing with confidence after their victory against Taunton last week. The home side could barely get going in the first half, but did manage to get a try before half-time. Canterbury did have a number of chances in the first half, but didn’t take them and when the hosts levelled the scores in the second period it looked like they would go on to win this match. However, Canterbury remained calm and took their chance 13 minutes from time as man of the match Charlie Harding went over to score and secure the win.

Chinnor 22-17 Lyndey
Chinnor managed to edge out Lyndey in this game that was played in cold and sticky conditions. The game was finely in the balance with the scores level at 10-10 at half-time and it was even 17-17 with just over 10 minutes of the game remaining, but replacement Joe Pickett finished off a spell of sustained pressure from the hosts to give them the all-important final score of the game and the bonus point try. The game also saw six yellow cards shown! This was a very positive performance from Lyndey and arguably this was one of their best performances of the season. They may have felt disappointed only to come away with one losing bonus point. A fighting performance from a side fighting for survival in this league.

Dings Crusaders 0-5 Cambridge
You can probably guess by the score line that the art of attacking rugby was certainly not on display in this game, but Cambridge continued their good recent form with this win in dismal conditions. The pitch looked like a mud bath by the full-time whistle and that certainly played its part in the quality of rugby on show. It took just one moment of magic to win this game though as James Stokes broke down the right wing and away from two defenders to offload to Jim Wigglesworth who touched down.

Redruth 22-10 Old Elthamians
The Old Elthamians lost their third game in a row as they were beaten by Redruth on Saturday. The turning point in the game seemed to be the yellow card that was awarded to the Old E’s’ Tom Standfield. The missing 10 minutes cost the Old E’s 12 points and they ultimately lost the match by that margin. Their lineout was something that just didn’t click for them either and despite only being a converted try behind at half-time, Redruth capitalised on the 14 men of the OE’s to race into a 22-3 lead which the OE’s could not recover. As for Redruth, their three tries and a terrific display by their forwards saw them control this match and helped claim their third consecutive home win.
Reaction
    •    Redruth Head Coach Steve Larkins
“We knew Old Elthamians would come down and throw everything at us but our defence looked good keeping them out for seventy minutes. We dominated up front and our attack looked sharp.”

Shelford 24-37 Clifton
Clifton scored a remarkable 34 unanswered points to claim what looked like an unlikely victory at Shelford and condemn the hosts to another defeat at The Davey Field. Shelford did lead 19-13 at the break after being the better side in the first half, but Clifton had other ideas in the second period and produced a torrent of scores to turn the game around.

Preview
Cambridge v Henley Hawks
After their win against the Cornish All Blacks, Henley Hawks now lead this division by five points heading into the last third of the season. They travel to Cambridge this weekend having won just two of their last five matches. Away from home, they won seven of their 10 matches and will be looking to extend their lead at the top this weekend.
As for Cambridge, they currently sit in seventh place in the table and have won four of their last five matches. A win this weekend could see them move within three points of the teams above them and even if they lose to Henley they will stay seventh.
Henely ran out comfortable 37-0 winners at Dry Leas earlier in the season and will be hoping for a repeat this weekend, but that won’t be easy against one of the in-form sides in this division.

Cornish All Blacks v Dorking
Dorking will be hoping that missing out on 80 minutes of rugby will not affect them when they take on the Cornish All Blacks this weekend. Dorking are five points behind Henley but do have that game in hand against Southend to come at the end of February. They have won third of their last five games and have lost just once on the road this season. If Henley do lose to Cambridge, a bonus point win could see them go back to the top of the league, but no matter what happens they will be in the top two on Saturday evening.
In terms of the All Blacks, it doesn’t get much easier for them after playing Henley last week. The All Blacks are ninth in the table and they have lost just twice in their last eight matches. They have won five of their 10 matches at home this season and are unbeaten in their last five games on home soil. A win could see them move into the top half of the table, but they will be nervously looking over their shoulder as they could fall down to 11th place with a defeat.
Dorking won 20-17 in this fixture on 11th October 2014.

Taunton v Bishop’s Stortford
This could arguably be the game of the weekend as third take on fourth in the division. Both sides are level on points, but Taunton have two more wins to their name than Bishop’s Stortford. Taunton have lost just twice in seven matches and have won their last three home matches. A win will keep them third as they are eight points behind Dorking, but they know a defeat could see them fall to sixth if results go against them.
As for Stortford, they will want to put their defeat to Canterbury at the back of their minds as they know it was a missed opportunity to stay in the top three. They have won five of their last seven games and won five matches away from home this season.
The last three meetings between Taunton and Stortford have seen a win for both sides and a draw over the last two years.

Southend Saxons v Chinnor
Fifth place Chinnor will be looking to keep up their impressive recent form when they travel to Southend on Saturday. Chinnor’s win against Lyndey was their fifth in their last six matches. They have won four of their nine games away from home this season and know with a win they can go into the top four, but they will stay in the top six regardless of what happens on Saturday.
In terms of Southend, they must have been disappointed to see their game against Dorking called off after they beat Henley the week before, but I am sure they will still be full of confidence heading into this game with Chinnor. That win against the league leaders was their second on the spin and they have won six games at home this season. A win for Southend would move them as high as 12th but more importantly further away from the relegation zone.
Southend have won three of the last five competitive meetings between the sides, but Chinnor did win 42-21 earlier this season.

Worthing Raiders v Lyndey
Worthing’s five game winning run came to an end last week against Taunton, but they are only four points outside the top four places. This week they host Lyndey and they go into this game with seven home wins this season.
As for Lyndey, they will be hoping they can replicate their performance against Chinnor in this match on Saturday as they continue to fight for their National Two South survival. They currently lie in 14th place in the division and are now the only side not to have won an away game this season. Overall, they have won just two of their last 10 matches, but are only three points away from climbing out of the drop zone. Still all to play for down at the bottom of this league.
Lydney actually beat Worthing 18-17 in the reverse fixture and will be praying it happens again this Saturday.

Old Elthamians v Shelford
It has not been a happy new year so far for the OE’s who have lost all three of their games. They have won five of their nine home games this season and they will want to turn their fortunes around this weekend at home to Shelford. They will stay in the top half with a win, but could drop to 11th if results don’t go their way. The OE’s won this fixture 28-33 earlier in the campaign.
Shelford are currently in 15th place and have won just two of their last 14 matches and have won two games on the road this season. They are seven points from safety and they will need a bonus point win on Saturday to go ahead of Lyndey in the table.

Canterbury v Redruth
Redruth will be full of confidence heading into this game on Saturday having won five of their last six games in all competitions. The bad thing for The Reds heading into this weekend is that they have only won once away from home all season. They are 10th in the table and with a win can go up to eighth, but a defeat could see them drop a place in the league.
In terms of the hosts, they will also be in a buoyant mood after their superb win against Bishop’s Stortford last weekend. It was their first away win of the season and their second victory in a row. Canterbury’s home record has certainly kept them clear of the relegation zone so far as they have won five of their nine matches this season. They will stay 12th with a win, but could drop to 13th if they are to lose.
Redruth won this fixture 27-20 earlier in the season.

Clifton v Dings Crusaders
Clifton have started to turn things around since the start of 2015. They have won their last two matches after entering the year with just two wins in 10 games. They are 11th in table with five wins and five defeats at home so far this season. A win could see them move into the top half, but they can’t move from 11th if they were beaten by the Crusaders on Saturday.
As for the Crusaders, their National Two survival is hanging by a very thin piece of thread at the moment. They are bottom of the table, 12 points from safety with just three wins all season. They have won once on their travels and that came against Worthing at the end of November. As we enter the final third of the season, every game is a must win now for the Crusaders.
Clifton edged out Dings 19-21 back in October.